HOW-TO GUIDES
How to Soundproof Your Home: Walls, Floors, Ceilings and Doors
Updated 08/26
By: Content Team
Reviewed: Alex Peters
The difference between airborne and impact noise
How to soundproof walls, ceilings, floors, and doors
Where sound actually leaks in, and why gaps matter most
What realistic noise reduction looks like
Quick wins if you're renting or on a budget
When it's worth hiring a soundproofing professional
Most UK homes weren't built with much thought given to sound. Thin walls, hollow doors, and bare floorboards all let noise travel far more easily than people expect - which is why a neighbour's TV, footsteps overhead, or traffic outside can feel far louder than it should.
The good news is that soundproofing a room is genuinely achievable without a full renovation, as long as you correctly identify what kind of noise you're dealing with before you start spending money on materials.
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Airborne noise vs impact noise
Before choosing a fix, work out which type of noise you're dealing with - the solutions are different for each.
Airborne noise travels through the air and includes conversation, music, TVs, and traffic. It gets into a room through gaps, thin walls, and lightweight surfaces.
Impact noise (also called structure-borne noise) comes from direct contact - footsteps, dragged furniture, slammed doors - and travels through the building's structure itself, bypassing most surface-level insulation.
A simple test: if you can feel a vibration when you put your hand on the wall while the noise is happening, it's likely impact noise. If you can hear it but feel nothing, it's airborne.
UK Building Regulations (Approved Document E) set a target of around 45 decibels for airborne sound resistance between rooms in new builds and conversions - a useful benchmark if you're wondering whether your home's soundproofing is below par.
The three ways to reduce noise
Broadly, soundproofing works through:
Adding mass - thicker walls, floors, or doors are harder for sound to pass through.
Decoupling and damping - separating structures (like a wall from its frame) so vibrations can't transfer directly, which is particularly effective against impact noise.
Absorbing sound - soft materials like thick rugs, curtains, and upholstered furniture soak up sound energy and reduce echo within a room, though this helps with clarity more than it stops sound leaving the room entirely.
It's worth setting realistic expectations from the start: full silence isn't achievable without professional-grade work, but a well-planned combination of these three approaches can make a genuine, noticeable difference.
Soundproofing walls
Once you've identified whether you're dealing with airborne or impact noise, walls have several treatment options:
Acoustic insulation slabs, acoustic roll, or acoustic plasterboard - added to a wall's cavity or surface, these increase mass and reduce airborne noise transfer.
Damping compound - applied between layers of plasterboard, this reduces vibration transfer without needing to add much thickness.
Wall panels - a surface-mounted option if you don't want to strip back existing plasterboard, useful for absorbing sound within the room as well as adding some resistance.
Don't overlook small gaps: unsealed electrical sockets, light switches, and cable openings in a wall can let a surprising amount of airborne noise through, undermining an otherwise solid soundproofing job.
Sealing these with acoustic sealant is a low-cost step worth doing alongside any bigger wall treatment.
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Soundproofing a ceiling
Adding mass is usually the starting point for a ceiling - acoustic insulation slabs fitted within the ceiling cavity, or a soundproof panel fixed below the existing plasterboard if you can't access the cavity itself.
Bear in mind that ceiling treatments are generally more effective against airborne noise (voices, music) than impact noise (footsteps from above), since impact vibrations travel through the joists themselves rather than the ceiling surface.
If footsteps from upstairs are the main issue, treating the floor above - or fitting a floating floor there - often makes more difference than anything done to the ceiling below.
Soundproofing a floor
Acoustic floor insulation fitted between floor and ceiling joists helps reduce airborne sound passing between levels. For impact noise specifically:
Floating floors decouple the floor surface from the structure beneath, reducing vibration transfer.
Acoustic matting or underlay fitted beneath carpet or hardwood flooring gives a meaningful reduction in impact noise with less disruption than a full floating floor.
Thick rugs with a dense underlay are a simple, renter-friendly option that won't match a full floating floor but noticeably reduces footstep noise.
Foam pads under rugs compress too easily to block much impact noise - a denser felt underlay generally performs better.
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Soundproofing a door
Doors and windows are often the weakest point in an otherwise well-soundproofed room, since sound takes the path of least resistance.
Seal air gaps around the door frame and threshold with acoustic sealant or a door sweep - even a small unsealed gap can let through more noise than the surrounding wall.
Swap a hollow-core door for a solid one. Hollow doors offer very little resistance to sound, while a solid door adds meaningful mass.
Consider secondary glazing or window inserts if traffic or outside noise is the main issue - windows are frequently the single biggest source of noise leakage into a room.
For pipework noise specifically, our guide on soundproofing pipes covers a more targeted fix, while an insulation specialist can advise on combining soundproofing with wider thermal upgrades.
Quick wins if you're renting or on a budget
Not every soundproofing fix requires structural work:
Heavy, fully-lined curtains reduce airborne noise from windows more effectively than thin curtains, which mainly block light rather than sound.
A full bookshelf or dense furniture against a shared wall adds mass and reduces echo.
Thick rugs on hard flooring cut down on both impact noise and in-room echo.
A door sweep or draught excluder seals the gap at the bottom of a door cheaply and without any permanent alteration.
Soundproofing a room: Planning for peace and quiet
Soundproofing a room is an effect way to restore the equilibrium in your home. We explain all you need to know.
Should you hire a professional?
DIY treatments can meaningfully reduce noise, but professional soundproofing consistently outperforms surface-level fixes, particularly for impact noise, because a specialist can properly decouple structures rather than just adding mass on top of them.
It's worth bringing in a professional if:
You're not sure whether your noise problem is airborne, impact, or a mix of both
You've tried basic fixes (rugs, curtains, door seals) with limited improvement
The noise is affecting a home office, music room, or home cinema where a higher level of sound control is needed
You want the work integrated with other insulation upgrades, such as loft or cavity wall insulation
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Misdiagnosing the type of noise is one of the most common (and costly) DIY mistakes - spending money on wall treatments when the real issue is impact noise from the floor above, for example, won't solve the problem.
A professional can correctly identify the noise path before recommending a fix, and any work carried out by a Checkatrade member is covered by our guarantee.
Soundproofing checklist
FAQs
Airborne noise (voices, music, TV) travels through the air and passes through gaps and lightweight surfaces. Impact noise (footsteps, dragged furniture) travels through the building's structure itself, which is why it often needs a different fix, such as decoupling or a floating floor.
Not completely - total silence isn't realistically achievable without laboratory-level construction. A well-planned combination of added mass, sealed gaps, and decoupling can, however, make a substantial and noticeable difference.
Sealing gaps around doors and sockets, adding a door sweep, hanging heavy curtains, and placing thick rugs with a dense underlay on hard floors are all low-cost options that reduce noise without structural work.
Not on their own. Foam panels reduce echo and improve sound quality within your own room, but they don't add the mass needed to stop sound passing through walls, floors, or ceilings from elsewhere.
Ceiling treatments that add mass are generally more effective against airborne noise like voices than against impact noise like footsteps, which travels through the joists themselves rather than the ceiling surface. Reducing footstep noise usually means treating the floor above instead.
Yes - hollow-core doors offer little resistance to sound compared with solid-core doors, and even a small gap at the bottom or sides can let through more noise than the door itself.
Costs vary depending on the room size and whether you're treating walls, floors, ceilings, or all three. See our soundproof room cost guide for a full breakdown.
Often, yes - many soundproofing materials (such as insulation slabs in wall or ceiling cavities) also improve thermal performance, so it can be worth planning soundproofing alongside a wider insulation upgrade.
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